


So Many Drabbles, So Little Time

by hawkflyer667



Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: Anti-writer's block, Arthur/Gwen - Freeform, Drabbles, Merlin/Arthur - Freeform, Multi, Random stuff I come up with when I'm tired
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2012-06-02
Updated: 2012-10-08
Packaged: 2017-11-06 16:00:10
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 16
Words: 2,816
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/420694
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hawkflyer667/pseuds/hawkflyer667
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A collection of random drabbles used to combat writer's block. Starts off mostly Arthur/Gwen, but as I became a harder slash shipper it's going to be majority slash. Sorry. </p><p>WILL TAKE ANY AND ALL REQUESTS, WITHIN REASON. :)</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Hunger

**Author's Note:**

> Hopefully I'll update these little drabbles once or twice a week!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> _Drabble Number_ : One
> 
> _Title:_ Hunger
> 
> _Summary:_ "Merlin forsakes food so Arthur can eat."
> 
> _Rating:_ K+, maybe? No good at ratings.
> 
> _Warnings:_ None

The days seemed to drag on as the famine got worse, not better. Crops were dying in the fields, animals were dying from starvation and therefore unable to become food themselves, and although the water ran plentiful—thank god—the citizens of Camelot couldn’t live on just water. Not forever. 

Placing the meager amount of food in front of Arthur, Merlin walked a few steps away and looked down. He couldn’t watch the food being eaten. He was too hungry. He hadn’t eaten in three days—ever since the order to stop distributing food was released.

But he didn’t want Arthur to feel bad and offer to share. Arthur was the Prince, and Merlin was only a servant. He would starve if it meant Arthur could eat.

He was the protector, after all.


	2. Stables

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> _Drabble Number:_ Two
> 
> _Title:_ Stables
> 
> _Summary:_ "Arthur comes up with a new punishment for our poor Merlin."
> 
> _Rating:_ K+
> 
> _Warnings:_ None
> 
>  

"Milord! May I speak with you for a moment?" A knight asked. Arthur pulled off his helmet, shook out his hair, and grinned at him.

"Sure. What's the problem?"

"I just wanted to bring to your attention that your servant somehow managed to lock himself in your horse's stable, and now is slamming on the door calling you and everyone who walks vulgar names."

Arthur laughed.

"I know."

"You know, sire?"

"Yes…Merlin was late once again this morning, so I put him in there. A few hours more and he might get the message that I don't tolerate perpetual lateness. Plus, it's funny."

The knight raised an eyebrow and then grinned.

"I'll inform the rest of the knights and servant's not to let him out."


	3. Insults

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> _Drabble Number:_ Three
> 
> _Title:_ Insults
> 
> _Summary:_ Only Merlin's allowed to insult Arthur and get away with it.
> 
> _Rating:_ K+
> 
> _Warnings:_ One minor swear.
> 
>  

Merlin's bags full of armor were heavy as he lugged them down the streets of Camelot, but for once he didn't care. He and Arthur just had a hysterical conversation with ended with Arthur accidently calling himself a prat. It didn't matter that Merlin had twisted his words; all that mattered was that Arthur actually admitted it. This was his personal victory and all the extra chores didn't matter.

"You! Boy! Guy with bags! Wait up!" a boy with brown hair and an easy smile yelled to Merlin, "You're the prince's new manservant, right?"

"Yeah."

"I'm Christopher. His old manservant. The one you stood up for?"

"Oh, right! Hello!"

"Prince Arthur's such an ass, right? A real prat. I feel sorry for you, mate."

Merlin's eyes flashed golden for a brief moment, and Christopher's bag started spewing corn kernels all over the street.

Only he could insult Arthur and get away with it.


	4. Sorcerer

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Drabble Number: Four
> 
> Title: Sorcerer
> 
> Summary: "Uther imprisoned him without even a trial..."
> 
> Rating: T
> 
> Warning: Blood and torture.

Arthur slammed open the cell door, blue eyes blazing with barely contained rage. There was no trial—no place for Merlin, his idiotic, overly-loyal servant (and if he had to admit it, best and most close friend) to plead his innocence. Uther just imprisoned him on the claim that he had witnessed Merlin using magic.

As if his servant was a sorcerer.

Merlin was cowering in the corner of his cell, and Arthur ran over to his side the second a pitiful whimper emitted itself from his mouth. With a closer look, Arthur could see that the poor boy's bare chest was covered with cuts and bruises. Bile rose in Arthur when he saw that Merlin was even branded with the symbol used to mark sorcerers.

Where was his proof?

"Merlin," he whispered, crouching next to his practical brother in the filth of the cell.

"I'm sorry, Arthur," Merlin sighed quietly, looking up at him with a bloodied face.

Arthur's heart shattered.


	5. Working

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Drabble Number: Five
> 
> Title: Working
> 
> Summary: "Arthur just doesn't understand."
> 
> Rating: K+
> 
> Warning: Another minor swear.

"Your job isn't all that hard, Merlin! Why do I always see you doing your work half-assed or not at all?" Arthur lectured. Merlin glanced up at Arthur from where he was kneeling on the floor, scrubbing it with a cloth. Merlin scowled.

"Not hard? Why don't you try it, your royal pratness?" he snapped. Little did Arthur know, Merlin was up most of the night saving Camelot. Again.

"You know what? Why don't I? For today, you're the incredible and devilishly handsome Prince Arthur and I'm his lowly manservant, Merlin!"

This was the worst idea of Arthur's life. At the moment, Merlin was lounging on Arthur's bed, grinning like a madman and ordering Arthur around. Arthur was on the ground in the same place Merlin just was, scrubbing the floor. It was a lot harder than it looked, especially with Merlin walking around in muddy shoes.

Remind him not to yell at his manservant as much anymore.


	6. Monster

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Drabble Number: Six
> 
> Title: Monster
> 
> Summary: "Merlin considers himself a monster, and Arthur sets him straight."
> 
> Rating: K+
> 
> Warnings: None...

Merlin recoiled away from my light touch on his shoulder, wincing.

"I'm sorry, Arthur, I truly am," he whimpered. I stared at him, dumbfounded. I couldn't speak…I didn't know what to think or what to say. The air around us seemed tense and full of magical energy, the residue of whatever the hell Merlin had last done.

He had been my manservant, and—who am I kidding?—my best friend—for almost three years now. All this time he was hiding magic from me?

His eyes met mine from where he was kneeling on the ground, liquid gold in place of the usual azure blue.

"I'm a monster, Arthur. I didn't tell you because I didn't want you conflicted in your loyalty to Uther for me," he whispered.

I sighed, the air rushing out of my mouth.

"Merlin… I'm furious with you, of course. After we get through this, it's a month…no. Three months of mucking out my stables for you. But I could never think you're a monster. Magic or not, you're still Merlin. Clumsy, idiotic Merlin."


	7. Death

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Drabble Number: Seven
> 
> Title: Death
> 
> Summary: A hunting trip gone drastically wrong.
> 
> Rating: T
> 
> Warning: Death...

I stared, flabbergasted, at the arrow flying towards my face. I never wore armor on hunting trips or impromptu rescue missions, mostly because I didn't own any and I never needed it. My magic was my armor.

Or at least, it was, until now.

I only caught a glimpse of the arrow speeding towards my chest. I didn't have enough time to think, let alone formulate a spell. I was paralyzed with fear.

A scream rent the air, "Merlin!" Something shoved me backwards and I went down hard. Gasping, my entire body jolted as I heard the ominous thud of an arrow hitting flesh.

My mouth dropped as I watched the body of my Prince…my best friend…drop to the forest floor. Dead.

Tears gathered in my now-golden eyes as I raised my hand to avenge the untimely death of my practical brother.


	8. Midnight

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Drabble Number: Eight
> 
> Title: Midnight
> 
> Summary: Arthur and his 'significant other' sneak out of the castle in the dead of night.' (Could be Merlin or Gwen)
> 
> Rating: T
> 
> Warning: Kissing?

The blanket bunched underneath me as Arthur's arm snaked gently around my shoulders to pull me closer to him. I grinned softly and snuggled closer to his warm body that I could barely see.

We had snuck out of the castle in the dead of night to be together, seeing as our relationship was forbidden and public knowledge of it could get me killed.

The rustle of the wind through the trees was our only comfort and the stars and moon our only light as we kissed and talked all through the night.

"I love you," I whispered quietly to him as our lips broke apart. He smiled and his lips pressed down on mine once more.


	9. Merlin's Beard!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Drabble Number: Nine
> 
> Title: Merlin's Beard?
> 
> Summary: Arthur and Merlin save some strange looking teenagers...with even weirder slang.
> 
> Rating: K+
> 
> Warnings: None

I stared at the three teenagers that Arthur and I saved from bandits. They were garbed in strange clothes and holding sticks, and yet I could sense the magic on them all. They were all semi-powerful sorcerers, especially the black-haired one. I needed to get them alone to warn them of the danger they were in. They seemed to not be aware of the laws against magic in Camelot.

"Arthur, why don't you keep on tracking that boar? I'll talk to them for you. We don't want to lose the boar's trail." I improvised. Arthur nodded.

"Bring the rest of the weapons with you when you finish talking to them." He ordered, walking off.

"Sorry about that. That's Arthur, the prince of Camelot. I'm his manservant."

"Merlin's beard!" the girl yelped, poking the boy with black hair.

"What?" I muttered.

"We're in Camelot…something went seriously wrong!" The black-haired boy responded.

"Merlin's pants! Camelot?" the ginger barked, surprise etched onto his face.

"What about my pants?" I yelled, interrupting their argument. They stared at me like I was going insane.

This was going to be a long day…


	10. Dark

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Drabble Number: 10!
> 
> Title: Dark
> 
> Summary: Arthur and Merlin are stuck in a cave and water is slowly trickling in...
> 
> Rating: K+
> 
> Warning: One really minor swear.

I huddled next to Arthur in the pitch black cave. It was so dark I couldn't even see him, kneeling next to me, let alone the blocked way out…and water from the outside waterfall was slowly leaking in. I shuddered at the thought of how long of a death it would be and leaned in closer to Arthur, my best friend in the entire world (not that he regarded me as such) for comfort.

"It'll be OK, Merlin," he whispered, "If we can come up with a way to see then we can escape."

"Yeah…," I whispered.

"Merlin?"

"Yeah, Arthur?"

He sighed softly, and then said, "If we…if we don't survive, I'd just like you to know that I consider you my closest friend in the world."

I grinned, and then gulped, because to Arthur, this was one of his closest and darkest secrets. I had to share mine.

"I'm...I'm a sorcerer, Arthur. I can do magic. My eyes glow. I'm not evil, though! I swear it!" I pleaded.

Arthur stared at me, flabbergasted, for a second, before yelling, "You're a sorcerer? Your eyes glow? Get us the hell out of here and THEN we'll chat about if you're evil or not!"

"Oh…," I spluttered, "Right."

"Yeah! Right!" Arthur retorted, "Idiot."

"Prat," I muttered.

Yes, things were normal once again.


	11. Court Sorcerer

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Drabble Number: Eleven
> 
> Title: Court Sorcerer
> 
> Summary: Arthur has a peculiar idea on how to combat sorcery.
> 
> Rating: K+
> 
> Warning: None

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (Crack!fic. Don't come crying to me over OCC, I know, this was just to be funny.)

"Merlin?" Arthur asked me, perched in his chair, staring at a report of an outlying village plagued by an evil sorcerer.

"Yeah, Arthur?" I asked.

"I've been thinking that swords can never truly defeat a sorcerer. The easiest way to defeat a sorcerer is with magic of your own, correct?" he asked me, a conniving look on his face.

"Yes…where are you going with this, sire?"

"I've talked to my Father, and he realizes this problem as well. I brought up the idea of having a sorcerer raised and trained here in Camelot. Father will watch this sorcerer with an eagle eye, and make sure he only has Camelot's best interests at heart. If he shows any signs of deviating loyalty, he will be killed instantly."

"Wait…King Uther is allowing magic?" I gasped, eyes wide.

"Yes, Merlin, because this way we will have a reliable tool to combat the other sorcery problems. We've talked about the person we wished to raise to be our own 'Court Sorcerer'. Both of us agree it should be you, Merlin. You're my manservant, so I can keep a close eye on you, and you're loyal to a fault. I don't see you turning on us. What do you say?"

"You want me to go learn magic." I stated, completely blown away.

"Yeah. I'm sure there are some magic books somewhere that we haven't gotten rid of."

I quickly shot a cup across the room from Arthur's nightstand into his awaiting hands.

"Done. Can I go now?"


	12. Training with a Sorcerer

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Drabble Number: Twelve
> 
> Title: Training with a Sorcerer
> 
> Summary: Arthur decides he would use his new Court Sorcerer, Merlin, to practice his fighting.
> 
> Rating: K+
> 
> Warning: None

"Merlin! Since you have magic and obviously should practice it, and I need to practice fighting sorcerers, why don't you come down to the training field with me?" Arthur questioned Merlin, a grin on his face.

Merlin's eyebrow rose, silently questioning the logic behind the statement. "You want to fight me?"

"Sure! Come on, Merlin, don't be frightened. It's just training as usual, except this time you'll get to use magic to defend yourself. Come on! It'll be fun!"

Merlin raised his hand, the language of the Old Religion pouring out of his mouth as he chanted the spells. His eyes were a brilliant gold, and the very air itself around him seemed to be charged with a strange aura crackling with power.

Arthur gulped, shook his head, and charged at Merlin. A grin emerged on Merlin's face for a brief moment as a gigantic bolt of lightning emerged out of nowhere, landing about a foot away from where Arthur was about to step. The aforementioned boy yelled, jumped back, and dropped his sword.

Merlin's eyes turned back to blue and a giant smile appeared on his face.

"Maybe I shouldn't use you to train…," Arthur muttered, running his hand through his blonde hair.

"Maybe not." Merlin grinned. Payback was sweet.


	13. Remember to Knock!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Drabble Number: Thirteen
> 
> Title: Knock Before Entering
> 
> Summary: Barging into Arthur's room was going to hurt him someday.
> 
> Rating: T
> 
> Warning: Make-out scene, though not too graphic or anything.

I never knocked on Arthur's door. I don't know why—I guess I didn't feel the need to because I was Arthur's friend, as well as his manservant. He always seemed semi-annoyed with my barging in, but that was just his prattish nature. I was trying to break him of that anyways.

I should have realized that this method of entering would come back to bite me in the butt at some point, but I didn't think it through and burst through the door like I did every morning at the same time.

I grinned, opened my mouth to say something cheerful, and froze.

I'm pretty sure Arthur's hands were up Gwen's blouse, although they could have been hugging if their lips weren't glued together.

"Uh…," I muttered, mortified. My cheeks flushed crimson, and I backed towards the door. Maybe I could make it before Arthur noticed I was there…

"MERLIN!"

Nope. A cup smashed into the door by my head.

"Sorry!" I pleaded, "I'm going to go now!"

I slipped out of the door, walking a few steps before sliding to a sitting position. I was never going to live this down. Although, Arthur's voice sounded just as mortified as mine did, if not more so.

Note to self: Remember to knock.


	14. Cold

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "After a long rainstorm, Merlin finds solace in front of the fire in the arms of who he loves most."

Drabble Number: Fifteen

Title: Cold

Summary: "After a long rainstorm, Merlin finds solace in front of the fire in the arms of who he loves most."

Rating: K+... T? I don't know.

Warnings: Kissing?

\-------------------------------------------------------

He slammed the door behind himself, shivering as water trailed its way down his neck. A flash of light captured his attention and he longed to go over to the other man, warm and cozy by the fire. Light illuminated the man's soft gold hair. A quick glance at down at himself showed how impossible the dream was and the boy stood in the shadows of the doorway, watching.

A sneeze forced its way up Merlin's throat and he slapped a hand over his mouth. Arthur turned from studying the flames, his face breaking into a smile. He motioned Merlin over. An identical goofy grin appeared on Merlin's face and he did as he was told, their lips meeting.

"Idiot," Arthur said fondly, gesturing for Merlin to sit down next to him. "Dry off here. Don't want you getting sick."

Merlin leaned closer, snuggling down for the night.


	15. Parenthood

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The heir of Camelot is born.

Drabble Number: Sixteen

Title: Parenthood

Summary: "The heir of Camelot is born."

Rating: K+

Warnings: None

Merlin paced outside of the door, not worrying that he was in danger of creating a rivet in the floor if he continued for much longer. Another blood-curdling cry came ripping from the room, and again Merlin glanced frantically over, fists clenching. A few soothing words worked their way through the wood and Merlin sighed, resuming his track.

It was a few minutes later when the door opened, revealing an exhausted and disheveled Arthur. Merlin met eyes with him, begging silently for answers. Arthur's face bloomed into a smile, and he pulled Merlin into a hug.

Arms snaking around Arthur's waist he hugged him for a moment before pushing past him into the room. Gwen was lying on a bed, looking even more exhausted than Arthur, but nearly glowing with joy. In her arms was a young baby.

Merlin walked closer, bending down and placing a gentle kiss on Gwen's head and on the baby's forehead. "He's strong," he whispered, "He's going to be a great King someday."

Gwen squeezed his hand. "His name is Emrys."

Merlin stared, dumbfounded, before breaking into a smile of his own.


	16. Presents

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Arthur gives Merlin a reason to smile.

Drabble Number: Seventeen

Title: Presents

Summary: "Arthur gives Merlin a reason to smile."

Rating: K+

Warnings: None

"I have a present for you," Arthur murmured into Merlin's ear. He glanced up from the pile of work surrounding him on the council table, looking tired and a bit perturbed. Dark bags loomed under his eyes from the overwhelming work. His blue eyes were confused, meeting Arthur's.

Arthur glanced around, and after seeing no one, pulled Merlin to his feet. "It's been far too long," he started quietly, "since the kingdom had something to celebrate."

Merlin glanced at him, bewildered. "Arthur, what do you me-,"

Arthur cut him off by bending to one knee, holding out a tiny black box. Merlin's eyes widened and he sucked in a breath. "What are you do-?"

"Merlin of Ealdor, Court Sorcerer of Camelot, will you do me the greatest honor of becoming my Consort?"

Merlin's eyes flooded with tears and he threw his arms around Arthur, lips meeting in a breathless, strangled kiss.

"Yes!"


End file.
